Subterranean deposits of natural resources such as gas, water, and crude oil are commonly recovered by drilling wellbores to tap subterranean formations or zones containing such deposits. Various water-based fluids are employed in drilling a wellbore and preparing the wellbore and an adjacent subterranean formation for the recovery of material therefrom. For example, a drilling fluid or mud is usually circulated through a wellbore as it is being drilled to cool the bit, keep deposits confined to their respective formations during the drilling process, and bring drill cuttings to the surface. The drilling fluid also has the ability to form an impermeable filter cake upon the walls of the wellbore, thus preventing water from migrating from the fluid into the subterranean formation. Other types of water-based fluids include a fracturing fluid that is usually used to create fractures in the subterranean formation to thereby increase the recovery of material from the formation. Moreover, a sweeping fluid may be used to flood the subterranean formations, thereby driving oil, gas, or water from the formation into a production wellbore for recovery, and a work-over fluid may be used to perform remedial work in the wellbore.
Unfortunately, fluid loss from such water-based fluids often occurs in the wellbore, resulting in severe problems. For example, an excessive amount of filter cake may build-up on the walls of the wellbore, causing the drill pipe to become stuck such that it is very difficult to remove it from the wellbore. Also, the fluid loss may lead to sloughing and caving in of shale formations. Further, electrical logging of the wellbore can be adversely affected due to the fluid loss.
Various natural and synthetic polymers are commonly added to water-based fluids to control fluid loss from the fluids into subterranean formations. However, some wellbores into which the water-based fluids are pumped have relatively high downhole temperatures and/or pressures at which traditional fluid loss control agents are unstable. As such, those fluid loss control agents may fail to serve their purpose of providing fluid loss control downhole. Therefore, a need exists to develop a fluid loss control agent that reduces fluid loss at high temperatures and pressures.